All Too Late
by Kazahana Yukina
Summary: Ever heard of the statement "It's never too late."? Well it's not always true. Neji X Tenten. Rated T for blood.


**Ever heard of the statement **_**"It's never too late"?**_

**Sometimes, it's not true.**

**Disclaimer: Yukina doesn't own Naruto in any way.**

* * *

><p><strong>ALL TOO LATE<strong>

_I always have. I always will._

…

…

Sometimes it was just so painful to know that everything could be all too late.

She may be once a jolly petite lady, but now, it was too late to be what she once was.

He may be once a stoic, emotionless man, but now, it was too late to mask emotions with indifference.

She was shaking with a definite pain shooting through her. How she wished that she was back in the comforts of her own home; in the comforts of the company of her so-called family. What could've happened if only she wasn't careless to let a bit of shinobi's guard down? What joys, hurts, and moments could she have been tasted along with him: him who had filled in the gap for the emptiness of solitariness thereof?

He was trembling from the fear overtaking his entire being. How he desired that not all fate wanted was to be obeyed. What could have happened if he was only strong enough not to falter? What blissful memories could have been embedded if only he was careful to fulfill his promise not only to the village but most especially to her: her who had veered him away from the evil cage of hatred?

A wrong move; a wrong turn; everything clicked together and brought them into this current state

The battlefield was silent; strangely, eerily silent as if mocking both of them and reminding of the inevitable. The supposed beauty of the soft green grass was lost, replaced by the horrifying taint of darkened blood, some half dried; some still fresh flowing out from the bodies of the nemeses where the two's respective techniques hit them.

But the worst one was of the crimson steadily flowing out from _her _nowlimp body: a sword wound had made its way all through her torso up to her back, piercing a part of her lung in the process.

She shuddered, gasping; holding on for the moment; trying to be there a minute longer along with him.

He trembled, panicking; calling out her name in steady succession; hoping she would stay.

Her eyes weren't as lively as before, in fact it undertook change. The once bright hazel turned to muddy brown. The once steady and focused were now jerking in uncontrollable motions, sight fighting hard not to falter away from his panic filled lavender ones.

She stared back into them, albeit the world slowly being fuzzy and getting darker. Those eyes never really showed anything, unless he willed them to, or when he was too overcome with emotion to cover up all of it. Through the years, she never really got to get the treasure out of those dreamless orbs, though she could give herself a pat on the back for deciphering a few. And out of those few, she was all too overjoyed to know that one of those she decoded was that something she herself held back from him too.

The affection far beyond the level of friendship

And now she asks the question: why hadn't she gathered the courage to make the first move when she still had the chance?

He was a genius. No one doubted that. But he profusely shunned all his abilities and gifts starting from the moment he yanked the sword away from her body. He didn't want to accept that logic reasoned loudly something that is inevitable to happen due to her dreadful conditions.

He was gasping for air himself, mostly out from fear than pain from a deep kunai wound at his mid thigh. He knelt beside her, cooing, comforting, and calling out although he himself doubted a word coming out from his bloody lips. Right now all he knew was he wanted to be with her, in tough times, in joyful times. He had always watched her from the sidelines with fascinated eyes. But he was just all too proud to let her know so. Every time her hazel clashes along with his lavender, he thanked fate that he was quick enough to cloud over his eyes with indifference just like its normal taint. But during times that she was being herself: a crazy petite woman with a knack for adventure, he knew in himself that no matter how much he tried to hide, she saw those hints of joy emanating from inside. And she would respond back a smile with the same amount of mirth he had.

And he wasn't an idiot to know it wasn't only joy beneath those hazels.

And now he asks the question: why hadn't he conjured the guts to at least try to reveal?

She coughed, crimson flowing out from the side of her mouth. It was only a minute more as she calculated. She sought out sanity, whispering out a desperate plea of a bit more time before everything completely went out of her hand.

It was now or she may have to forever hold her peace.

Hoping to commit it to memory for the last time, she traced the features of his face the best she can with those quivering sights. Her voice was now lost along with the darkness starting to overtake her. But she wasn't one to give up just yet. Voice or no voice, she knew him well enough as to understand.

With all the strength left of her, she fought hard to move up her arm. She raised it up with determination, her blood dripping from her hand to her shoulder as it followed the laws of gravity. With one final effort, she lightly placed her palm onto his chest, directly over the shirt supposed to cover that part of him nesting his heart.

As the blood flowed down from her palm down his shirt, his eyes widened at the gesture, while trying to contain in the tears that threatened to scream out at the sudden revelation and realization.

But when she smiled sweetly, he couldn't help it anymore.

Involuntarily, he grasped her hand over onto his own, pressing her palm harder against his chest, letting her feel the loud beats that was clenching with guilt and pain. Under the light of the lamenting moon, a steady stream of his tears fell down glistening and mixed with the pool of her blood below, making it a lighter shade of red than what it was supposed to be.

Amidst the blurry vision, he saw her lips part and move without a sound. But he knew what she said inasmuch as he also heard it in his heart.

_I always have. I always will._

He watched helplessly as her eyes slowly closed against her will, not giving him a chance to say what he wanted to say all these years.

Thus and so he wailed her name

* * *

><p><strong>=(<strong>

**Okay…so this was rather depressing…for me at least…**

**I've had this in mind for a while now…but no matter how things turned out for both of them, I still am glad I was able to write the plot down.**

**Yukina appreciates your taking a few minutes of your time to read her story.**

**Kami no gokago ga arimasu youni…**

**=)**


End file.
